A SiGe D-Band x12 Frequency Multiplier with Gilbert Cell-Based Tripler

Abstract

The design and measurement results of a fully-integrated x12 frequency multiplier for D-Band applications in Infineon’s 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology B11HFC are presented. The frequency multiplier consists of active baluns, frequency doublers, distribution networks, amplifiers, and Gilbert cells. To generate a D-Band signal, the frequency of an input signal is first doubled twice and then tripled. The approach used to triple the frequency is to utilize Gilbert cells instead of a push-pull tripler. Overall, the x12 frequency multiplier exhibits a measured 3 dB bandwidth of 37.5 GHz at a center frequency of 136.25 GHz. The variation of the output power is smaller than 9 dB in the entire D-Band. In addition, the measured harmonic rejection is approximately 24.5 dB at the center frequency.